Calistoga: A
vacation in your
own back yard
PAT R I C I A C O R R I G A N

The hot tub at Calistoga Spa Hot Springs.

Patricia Corrigan photos

Castello di Amorosa

A bedroom in the original Sam Brannan cottage attached to the Sharpsteen
Museum.

Editor’s Note: Writer Patricia
Corrigan decided to explore a closeto-home destination and report back
to her fellow Napa residents, travel
magazine style.
You already know that Calistoga
is that pretty town of 5,000-plus
perched on the northwestern edge
of Napa County.
But did you know that some
1.2 million people visited there in
2014 to grab time off the grid, get
out of the routine, groove on the
casual vibe?
Calistoga draws visitors from
all over the world who want to
mellow out in mineral pools, tour
world-class wineries, meet artisans
crafting unique products, shop for
clothing not found in malls and eat
delicious meals.
Living where you do, you can
easily make the trip for a day, a
long weekend or even a week. Here
are highlights of a four-day trip to
Calistoga late last year.
If what you have in mind is
doing a lot of nothing, you will
want to do some of that in the
four mineral pools (including a
huge hexagonal hot tub with jets)
at Calistoga Spa Hot Springs. The
spacious pools are filled with warm
mineral water that contains phosphorous, sulfur (with no odor) and
magnesium, all sources of rejuvenation. This comfortable boutique
hotel, with kitchenettes in every
room, also offers a wide range of
spa treatments. (For current room
rates, special packages and details
on spa treatments, see calistogaspa.
com)
Once you’re feeling like pampered royalty, drive to Castello di
Amorosa, a winery tucked inside
an authentically styled 13th century medieval castle just south of
Calistoga. As we walked in, a man
leaving after a tour remarked to his
companion, “That was amazing.”
And it is.
A massive 121,000-square-foot

building, the castle boasts five
towers, 107 rooms, a drawbridge,
a moat, a torture chamber and even
secret passages. In spite of the rustic
feel, the winemaking is completely
state of the art, with triple-jacketed fermentation tanks. What’s in
the tanks? More than 15 different
wines. (For a virtual tour of the castle, more about the wine and current prices for tours and tastings,
see castellodiamorosa.com.)
New to the Calistoga area is
Coquerel Family Wine Estates,
which specializes in small batches of
Sauvignon Blanc. Clay and Brenda
Cockerell don’t yet have a tasting
room, but you can keep apprised of
their construction schedule — and
learn more about their wines — at
coquerelwines.com.
While you’re out, stop by Wine
Barrel Furniture, just 10 minutes
from the center of town. Artist Paul
Block’s story is a good one. A chef
at a winery in the ‘90s, Block asked
for some of the empty barrels. His
degree from the Parsons School
of Design served him well, and in
1997 he made his first piece of furniture. (Have a look at his work at
barrelrecycling.com)
“Now, the idea of wine barrel
furniture is huge, and it’s hard
to get the barrels,” Block told us.
Recently, he has turned to working
with desiccated grapevines to make
unique candleholders, sconces,
chandeliers and table bases. Block
said, “It’s the hardest wood I’ve ever
come across.”
Block always needs more vines
for his work. And what about
those vines and cuttings that don’t
lend themselves to re-purposing?
“People can use them for fuel in
winter,” said Block, a committed
environmentalist. “I set up a bin at
the Cal-Mart grocery in town for
recycling, where people can get the
vines for free.”
See Calistoga, Page 15